Industry News - Chauffeur Driven Magazine

Details: Category: Industry News; Published: 2022, May 02

Under the theme of Marketing Your Business, the Minority Limousine Operators of America (MLOA) held a membership meeting/webinar via Zoom on Wednesday, April 27. The association welcomed guest speaker Larry Johnson, brand manager for Motev, to offer tips that attendees can use to successfully market their businesses.

MLOA President Tiffany Hinton of Motev kicked off the meeting with a quick recap of the CD/NLA Show where the association had a booth. “We got so much great reception at the show,” she said, adding that MLOA gained close to a dozen new members, each oh whom got a shout-out during the webinar.

Tiffany Hinton MLOA MLOA President Tiffany Hinton

She then welcomed Johnson whose presentation, titled The ABCs and Sometimes Ps of Marketing, was designed to detail essential steps in developing an effective marketing strategy. According to Johnson, the ABCs stand for Alignment, Brand, and Connecting, with the accompanying Ps representing Product, Price, Position, and Promotion.

Alignment, said Johnson, is the most important, as businesses should have a clear, unified direction and message. Regarding branding, it is vital that operators brand everything from their vehicles, to uniforms, to advertising. But, Johnson warned attendees that branding is more than a logo—it’s a visual representation of goals, values, narrative, and partnership. Lastly, connecting is about expanding your network, whether it’s reaching clients or partnering with affiliates. The Ps largely deal with setting yourself apart from your competitors: What do you offer that’s different from you competitors (Product)? Can you underbid other operators in your market (Price)? Where are you in your market (Position)? What is your reach (Promotion)?

Guest speaker Larry Johnson of Motev

Next, Gary Arrington of Virginia Premium Transportation was scheduled to speak about social media marketing, but technical difficulties prevented him from taking part. However, the MLOA will make his useful slide show downloadable on their webpage.

Following the presentation, Hinton announced that the MLOA will be hosting a two-day, in-person meeting in Atlanta. Scheduled for September (firm date TBA), the event will offer activities and education, along with a golf tournament at Top Golf and a comedy show. Details and agenda will be forthcoming.

The floor was then opened to attendees to speak about industry news or association happenings. Dan Goff of A Goff Transportation advised all members to visit the military bus contract website and sign up as there is currently “ridiculous” opportunity for providing transportation in the military space… and not just for buses. MLOA Vice President Travis Latham of Fellowship Fleet Limousine and Bus encouraged attendees to join the organization’s new insurance coalition (aka The IC Crew) to examine ways that insurance costs can be reduced. Finally, returning MLOA member Mike Barreto of Metropolis Logistics advised everyone to have a capability statement handy, which is, in short, a one-page sheet containing all the information commonly asked by procurement professionals.

Visit mlooa.org for more information.

[05.02.22]

Details: Category: Industry News; Published: 2022, May 02

Business travel is surging forward, international travel is returning and despite new challenges, industry recovery is entrenched, according to the latest poll conducted by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). The association has been regularly surveying business travel buyers, suppliers, and other stakeholders since the pandemic began.

GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang

“We’re seeing significant gains in the return of business travel, especially over the past month or two. GBTA’s global data show more companies are allowing domestic and now also international employee travel. Booking levels and travel spending continue to return, and there’s high levels of optimism and employee willingness to travel for business. This comes even as the industry faces challenges beyond COVID, including rising fuel prices, inflation, supply chain disruption, and war in Ukraine,” said GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang.

Some key highlights from the poll: 

Double-Digit Increases, International Travel Jumps. Companies that report they at least sometimes allow non-essential domestic business travel has increased to 86 percent, up from 73 percent in GBTA’s February poll. International travel made a big jump with 74 percent reporting their company now allows it, up 26 points from February.

Corporate Travel Bookings Return. A majority (88 percent) of suppliers and travel management companies (TMCs) report their bookings have increased in the prior month (compared to 45 percent in February). On average, travel buyers say their company’s travel bookings are currently at 56 percent of the pre-pandemic level, up 22 points from February.

Spending Recovery Forecast. Respondents expect their company will be back to 59 percent of their pre-pandemic spend by the end of 2022 and will reach 79 percent by the end of 2023.

Back in the Office, Back on the Road. Four in ten (41 percent) say their company’s return to the office directly correlates to the return to business travel. More than half (55 percent) say their company has implemented a permanent back-to-office policy. One-quarter (23 percent) report their employees will be full-time in-office, and over half (52 percent) will be hybrid with working days spent between office and home.

Policies Changing With the Times. A majority (80 percent) of travel managers report the pandemic has driven changes to their company’s travel policies in some capacity, including fewer business trips overall (39 percent), more trip approval requirements (24 percent), and a re-evaluation of how employees travel for business (23 percent).

Inflation’s Impact. Forty-one percent of companies report they have increased employee travel spending for air travel, 34 percent for hotel stays, 33 percent for car rentals, and 26 percent for ground transportation.

Factoring in Sustainable Travel. The most frequently cited expectations include fewer trips per employee overall (54 percent) and longer, multi-purpose business trips (43 percent), and more rail and multi-modal options (34 percent).

Masks on Planes: Who Should Decide. Global sentiment around mask mandates on commercial airplanes varies. Two in five (41 percent) say governments should require passengers to wear masks on airplanes, while a third (32 percent) feel each airline should be allowed to decide if passengers are required to wear masks. One in five (20 percent) feel governments should prohibit mask mandates (i.e., allow passengers to fly on any airline without masks). Note that the survey was conducted prior to the mask mandate being struck down in the US.

The full results of the survey can be viewed here.

Visit gbta.org for more information.

[05.02.22]

Details: Category: Industry News; Published: 2022, April 27